diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h b/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
index c3e4d9b6f9c0..1e56fe8e8157 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/nvme.h
@@ -354,6 +354,11 @@ struct nvme_ctrl {
 	struct nvme_fault_inject fault_inject;
 };
 
+static inline enum nvme_ctrl_state nvme_ctrl_state(struct nvme_ctrl *ctrl)
+{
+	return READ_ONCE(ctrl->state);
+}
+
 enum nvme_iopolicy {
 	NVME_IOPOLICY_NUMA,
 	NVME_IOPOLICY_RR,